FleishmanHillard’s TRUE is an award-winning online magazine that features insights from thought leaders in the worlds of communications, marketing and media. Our goal is to create a dynamic community of executives, academics, authors and practitioners—a platform on which issues will be debated, problems analyzed, innovations proposed and best practices celebrated. We launch a themed issue quarterly and update weekly, but we’re looking for new ideas and new writers every day.

FleishmanHillard’s TRUE is an award-winning online magazine that features insights from thought leaders in the worlds of communications, marketing and media. Our goal is to create a dynamic community of executives, academics, authors and practitioners—a platform on which issues will be debated, problems analyzed, innovations proposed and best practices celebrated. We launch a themed issue quarterly and update weekly, but we’re looking for new ideas and new writers every day.

Digital & Social Media

Go Live on Twitter and Instagram

By Claire Salazar

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What Happened: Instagram introduced its live video feature last week, allowing its 600 million monthly users to share their own livestreaming videos with followers. The live video will appear in Instagram Stories and disappear as soon as you are finished recording. Just days after Instagram introduced live video, Twitter announced their new live video feature, integrating Periscope capabilities into the Twitter app. This update allows Twitter’s 317 million monthly users to live stream video directly from a tweet. Users will also be able to comment and like other users’ live video in the app.

What This Means for Brands: Live video continues to grow in popularity among social media channels and their users. Facebook Live launched in 2015 and has been popular among users, companies, celebrities and more. As more social media channels are adding the capability to their apps, it is clear that live video will continue to grow. Brands need to be aware of the ongoing popularity of live video, and should consider the ways that they can incorporate it to reach consumers. Live video is a great way for brands to provide a behind-the-scenes view of their business. Social media users love to feel in the moment and see a real life perspective, rather than a staged, recorded video. Brands can also capitalize on the user engagement and instant feedback from live video. They can immediately see what questions and comments consumers have, and can use the feedback for future videos or discussions. Live video can also be used to immediately reach consumers, which can be useful to make an announcement or address a crisis.